"The strategic vision can best be developed and directed by a local governing board," said Berdahl, in a presentation Friday before the board's governance committee at Portland State University.

Berdahl stepped in as president last month after the board fired Richard Lariviere, in part for pushing in the Legislature for a UO governing board after the state board told him to back off.

Berdahl said an independent board should have authority to hire and fire the president, issue revenue bonds, prioritize building projects, manage human resources and design and maintain an "affordable framework to meet the needs of the university."

He said an independent board gains importance as state support declines, forcing the university to raise more of its own money. The state provided a third of the UO's operating budget in 1991; today it provides about 12 percent.

Higher education has never been a priority in Oregon, said Berdahl, who was a history professor and dean there before going on to an administrative career that included president of the University of Texas and chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley.

"There is a limited amount of resources, and obviously a limited amount of will" to fund Oregon higher education, he said.

Berdahl said many public universities have their own boards, and adopting one at the UO would in no way be a step toward privatization or withdrawal from the university system.

The UO, PSU and OSU all have foundation boards, and Dr. Joe Robertson, president of Oregon Health & Science University, said they should keep their foundation boards separate from any future governing boards. OHSU has both, and they each have distinct and separate roles, he said.

Bill Graves/The OregonianRobert Berdahl, left, interim president of the University of Oregon; Ed Ray, president of Oregon State University, and Wim Wiewel, president of Portland State University, share their views Friday with state board on the value of independent governing boards for individual universities.

The foundation board is not politically appointed, allowing the university to tap a different skill set, he said.

"There is no perfect structure, but overall I am in favor of a two-board concept," Robertson said. "There is always a concern you are going to create a two-headed monster, but that is easy to avoid."

The state board has been open to considering independent boards for campuses that want them, but it first wanted the Legislature to pass a law giving the entire university system more independence from state control. The law passed and took effect this month.

The board objected to Lariviere seeking an independent UO board in the Legislature at the same time it was trying to win approval for its legislation.

The UO faculty assembly on Nov. 30 approved a motion to establish a UO board of trustees, and Rep. Phil Barnhard, D-Eugene, said he will introduce a bill next month to give the UO an independent governing board.